Chapter 5: Sum, Es, Est. . .

Mei testes veri sunt. — Cicero, Against Verres 2.5.165
Translation

My witnesses are telling the truth.

Details

Meī is the masculine nominative plural form of meus/mea/meum (1/2): my, mine. Testēs is the nominative plural form of testis, testis (3m/f): witness. Vērī is the masculine nominative plural form of vērus/vēra/vērum (1/2): true; truthful, telling the truth. Sunt: (they) are.


In aere meo est. — Erasmus, Adagia (1536)
Translation

He is in my pay.

Alt. : He is in my debt.

Details

(He owes me one.) In (prep.): (with abl.) in, on; (with acc.) into. Aere is the ablative singular form of aes, aeris (3n): copper; money; debt. Meō is the m/n ablative singular form of meus/mea/meum (1/2): my, mine. Est: he is.


Sum bonus et frugi. — Horace, Epistles 1.16.49
Translation

I am good and careful.

Details

(He’s quoting his servant.) Sum: I am. Bonus /bona/bonum (1/2): good. Et (conj.): and. Frūgī was originally the dative singular form of the noun frūx, frūgis (3f): fruit, crop; morality, sobriety, virtue—but it became used virtually as an indeclinable adjective meaning honest, frugal, worthy.


Vos estis in possessione. — Cicero, On the Agrarian Law 3.15
Translation

You are in possession of it.

Details

Vōs: you (pl.). Estis: (you) are (pl.). In (prep.): (with abl.) in, on; (with acc.) into. Possessiōne is the ablative singular form of possessiō, possessiōnis (3f): a taking possession of; possession.


In eadem es navi. — Erasmus, Adagia (1536)
Translation

You (sg.) are in the same boat.

Details

In (prep.): (with abl.) in, on; (with acc.) into. Eādem is the feminine ablative singular form of īdem/eadem/idem (adj.): the same. Es: you are (sg.). Nāvī is the ablative singular form of nāvis, nāvis (3f): ship, boat—an i-stem noun that can take the ending – ī in the ablative singular (but nāve is also possible; see Chapter 23 of The Latin Tamer).


Civis Romanus sum. — Cicero, Against Verres 2. 5. 14 7
Translation

I am a Roman citizen.

Details

(Context: “There, in that prison, guiltless Roman citizens were most shamefully strangled. Now at last the cry ‘I am a Roman citizen,’the famous appeal that has so often brought men help and rescue among savage races in the furthest corners of the earth, was to hasten the infliction and increase the agony of these men’s death.”) Cīvis, cīvis (3m/f): citizen. Rōmānus /Rōmāna/Rōmānum (1/2): Roman. Sum: I am.


Est igitur profecto deus. — Cicero, De Natura Deorum 2.1 6
Translation

Therefore God does exist.

More literally: So there is indeed a God.

Details

Est: there is. Igitur (conj.): therefore, so, then. Profectō (adv.): actually, indeed, truly, certainly. Deus, deī (2m, irreg.): god, deity.


Eques Romanus es. — Seneca, Epistles 44.2
Translation

You are a Roman knight.

Details

Eques, equitis (3m): horseman; knight. Rōmānus /Rōmāna/Rōmānum (1/2): Roman. Es: you are.


Nec sumus ingrati. — Ovid, Metamorphoses 4.76
Translation

We are not ungrateful.

Details

Neque/ nec (conj.): and not, neither, nor. Sumus: are we. Ingrātī is the masculine nominative plural form of ingrātus/ingrāta/ingrātum (1/2): unpleasant, disagreeable; ungrateful.


Quare ergo, si incesta sum, vivo? — Seneca the Elder, Controversies 1.3.4
Translation

Why, then, if I am unchaste, am I still alive?

Details

More literally, Why, then, if I am unchaste, do I live?

Quārē (interrog. adv.): why? Ergō (particle): therefore, then. (conj.): if. Incestus/ incesta /incestum (1/2): unclean, polluted; unchaste, lewd; incestuous. Sum: I am. Vīvō, vīvere, vīxī, vīctum (3): to live.


Nonne homines estis? — 1 Cor. 3:4
Translation

Are you not men?

Details

Nōnne (interrog. particle, made up of nōn and the enclitic particle – ne, which makes the word part of a question): not, in a question that expects a “yes” answer, such as do/does/etc. . . . not? Hominēs is the nominative plural form of homō, hominis (3m): man, human. Estis: are you (pl.).


O Paule, malus es. — Martial, Epigrams 4.17.3
Translation

O Paulus, you are evil.

Details

Ō (interjection): O! Oh! Paule is the vocative singular form of the proper noun Paulus, Paulī (2m). Malus /mala/malum (1/2): bad; evil. Es: you are (sg.).


Res sunt inexplicabiles. — Cicero, Letters to Atticus 10.2.2
Translation

The tangle cannot be unravelled.

More literally: Matters are inextricable.

Details

Rēs is the nominative plural form of rēs, reī (5f): thing; matter, affair. Sunt: (they) are. Inexplicābilēs is the m/f nominative plural form of inexplicābilis/inexplicābilis/inexplicābile (3): inextricable; inexplicable.


Nil igitur mors est ad nos. — Lucretius, On the Nature of Things 3.830
Translation

Death therefore is nothing to us.

Details

Nīl: nothing. Igitur (conj.): therefore, so, then. Mors, mortis (3f): death. Est: is. Ad (prep.): to (takes the accusative). Nōs is the accusative form of nōs: we.


Ego sum qui sum. — Ex. 3:14
Translation

I am who I am.

Details

Ego: I. Sum: am. Quī /quae/quod (rel. pron.): who, which, that, what. Sum: I am.


Sed alia maiora sunt. — Quintilian, The Orator’s Education 1.10.39
Translation

But there are other more important points.

Details

Sed (conj.): but. Alia is the neuter nominative plural form of alius/alia/aliud (1/2, irreg.): other, another (the neuter plural is used substantively to mean other “things”). Maiōra is the neuter nominative plural form of maior/maior/maius (3), the comparative form of magnus/magna/magnum (1/2): large, great; important. Sunt: (they/there) are.


Similes sumus. — Seneca the Elder, Controversies 2.6.1
Translation

We are similar.

Details

Similēs is the m/f nominative plural form of similis/similis/simile (3): similar. Sumus: we are.


Tristis es et felix. — Martial, Epigrams 6.79.1
Translation

You (sg.) are sad and lucky.

Details

Trīstis /trīstis/trīste (3): sad; stern, austere. Es: you are (sg.). Et (conj.): and. Fēlīx, fēlīcis (3, adj.): happy, lucky, fortunate.


Caeca invidia est. — Livy, History of Rome 38. 49. 5
Translation

Envy is blind.

Details

Caecus/ caeca /caecum (1/2): blind. Invidia, invidiae (1f): envy; spite, resentment, dislike. Est: is.


Non est vestrum ubicumque non estis. — Seneca, Epistles 89.21
Translation

Any place you do not occupy is not really yours.

More literally: Wherever you (pl.) are not is not yours.

Details

(He’s asking what good it is to have houses with rooms you don’t use.) Nōn: not. Est: is. Vester/vestra/ vestrum (1/2): your, yours (pl.). Ubicumque (rel. adv.): wherever. Estis: you are (pl.).

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